Buddhism is about us, our minds, and our suffering -- it’s about being human. Melvin McLeod on why Buddhism has something to offer everyone, including those who aren't religious.
It wasn’t so long ago that most Americans took their religion for granted. You were born into a religion, you lived in it, and you died in it.
Except for a few daring freethinkers, that’s the [...]

We call people who harm us enemies, but is that who they really are? When we see the person behind the label, say Buddhist teachers Sharon Salzberg and Robert Thurman, everyone benefits.
Crushing the Competition
Sharon Salzberg
Competition today is tantamount to a blood sport—and not just on the playing field or in the ring. The psychoanalytic theorist Karen Horney [...]

The yoga teacher’s instruction was not to think of anything, but what do you do when pushing thoughts away just makes them get bigger? John Kaag on looking the elephant of pain squarely in the face.
“You should do yoga,” my friend told me. “It really helps with anxiety.”
You know what actually helps with anxiety? Not listening to people who make you anxious. Of course, [...]

The receptive state of listening is a kind of auditory meditation, says Sakyong Mipham. It is an important way to gain wisdom and insight. But it’s not easy.
It is said that when the Buddha first taught, two deer approached, knelt down, and raised their ears. The two deer symbolize the act of listening, a sublime way of being present in the moment. Their perked-up ears [...]

Rod Meade Sperry takes a look at how the late comedian Mike DeStefano, whose posthumous LP, Puppies and Heroin was just released, found himself on the Buddhist path.
Bonus video: Mikey D’s act, as captured on his live CD OK Karma, could get pretty nasty at times, but was still in many ways friendly and strong. But that album doesn’t capture the depth and breadth of [...]

After thirteen years as a Buddhist nun, Sister Dang Nghiem looks back on her medical career and realizes monastic practice and medicine aren’t really that different.
I had graduated from medical school and was doing my residency in family practice when I met Thich Nhat Hanh and his monastic community. Soon after that, my partner died suddenly in an accident. His death helped [...]

Amitabha (Amida), contained within a closed shrine. Photo courtesy of Free Sackler.
Is it a religion, psychology, or way of life? The “religion without God” has baffled Western thinkers for hundreds of years. Our three experts, Charles Prebish ("Yes”), Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche ("No”), and Joan Sutherland ("Kind of”), join the debate.
Yes, Buddhism is a religion
A religion [...]

On Thursday, March 24, the entertainment world was shocked by the passing, at 66, of comedian Garry Shandling. Though truly beloved by fans and comedy peers alike, not many people knew that Shandling considered himself "a serious student of dharma" who felt a connection to Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh's tradition of Buddhist teaching and practice.
In this excerpt from his [...]

Unflinching honesty. Insightful observation. Outside-the-box thinking. Today’s great comedians may not know much about Buddhism but they practice some of its most important principles. Rod Meade Sperry takes a look at today’s comics of merit, including Garry Shandling, Sarah Silverman, Mike DeStefano, Garry Shandling, Tig Notaro, and more.
What is it about comedians and [...]

Associate Editor Rod Meade Sperry's editorial introduction of the November 2013 issue of Lion's Roar magazine.
“Spiritual but not religious”? What does that mean exactly? It sounds so light... so non-committal.
Light? Maybe, depending on the person. Noncommittal? Well, yes. And that’s precisely the point.
People today want spiritual nourishment. But many aren’t wild [...]

We’re glad to have you here. But first: who are “we”?
You may very well know us as the publishers of two Buddhist magazines, the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma. Then again, you may not know us at all. Either way, please allow us to re-introduce ourselves:
We’re the Shambhala Sun Foundation. We [...]